‘Fans are going to love’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens, says George Lucas

George Lucas has given The Force Awakens, the highly anticipated next installment in the core Star Wars saga, his stamp of approval. Well, sort of.

While Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy recently told The Hollywood Reporter that Lucas "really liked" the film after attending an early screening, the former director was a bit more reserved when asked to elaborate on those comments.

Speaking to Vulture at a recent event at the Kennedy Center Honors, where Lucas was being honored for his lifetime achievements in arts and culture, he clarified, "I think the fans are going to love it. It's very much the kind of movie they've been looking for."

It's a bit of a standoffish response, but not unexpected given Lucas' recent comments on The Force Awakens. Opening up to CBS News last month, Lucas explained that Disney went in a different direction with The Force Awakens than he originally visioned.

"The issue was ultimately, they looked at the stories and they said, 'We want to make something for the fans,'" Lucas said to CBS News. "I said, 'All I wanted to do was tell a story of what happened–it started here and it went there. It's all about generations and the issues of fathers and sons and grandfathers.'"

"It's a family soap opera," continued Lucas. "People don't realize it's actually a soap opera and it's all about family problems–it's not about spaceships. So they decided they didn't want to use those stories; they decided they were going to do their own thing so I decided, 'Fine.'"

Lucas hasn't been involved in the production of The Force Awakens, and recently referred to his departure from Star Wars as a divorce. Disney bought Lucasfilm and its properties (Star Wars and Indiana Jones) back in 2012 for just $4 billion.

“There is no such thing as working over someone’s shoulder,” he told The Washington Post. “You’re either the dictator or you’re not. And to do that would never work, so I said ‘I’m going to get divorced.’ . . . I knew that I couldn’t be involved. All I’d do is make them miserable. I’d make myself miserable. It would probably ruin a vision — J.J. [Abrams] has a vision, and it’s his vision.”

“I gotta go to the wedding,” he said. “My ex will be there, my new wife will be there, but I’m going to have to take a very deep breath and be a good person and sit through it and just enjoy the moment, because it is what it is and it’s a conscious decision that I made."

Although The Force Awakens may not be the story Lucas originally envisioned, it's still nice to hear him say it's something fans will "love."